By Rich Flowers News Editor
The Athens Review
Athens — U.S. Highway 175 has been a busy strip of roadway lately with offenders attempting to outrun law officers in vehicle chases.
Friday night, a 45-year-old man fled a Log Cabin Police Department traffic stop, and eluded officers until his front tires were blown out by spikes by Athens Police at the intersection of U.S. Highway 175 and Loop 7. Thomas Lane Boyd was arrested and booked into the Henderson County Jail for evading arrest with a motor vehicle.
He was released Sunday morning after posting $3,500 bond.
Log Cabin officer Cameron Beckham said the HCSO dispatch received a call at about 10:52 p.m., Friday from a woman who said she was being followed by a green Ford Ranger pickup.
The woman pulled into the Kamman’s Exxon station on State Highway 198, and pointed the truck out to police. When Boyd saw police, he sped away toward Eustace.
When Boyd reached U.S. Highway 175, he headed east toward Athens, with Beckham and police officers from Eustace and Payne Springs in the chase.
Shortly after 11 a.m., APD Cpl. Billy Westover and Officer John Riley were alerted to the chase. The APD officers placed the spikes on the roadway as Boyd approached the Loop 7 intersection.
Boyd hit the spikes, but continued forward until he reached the Department of Public Safety Office on the eastbound side of U.S. 175. Boyd pulled into the driveway, and came to a stop at the back of the DPS building, where he surrendered to authorities without further incident.
Beckham said Eustace Police had conducted a traffic stop on Boyd the day before the chase. At that time he told the Eustace officer that he would run the next time he was stopped by police.
“He told them that we wouldn’t catch him because he knew Henderson County better than we did,” Beckham said.
